What Does It Take To Get You- One Direction fanfic
by write-eat-love
Summary: When Ashleigh is forced to take little sister Ally to a One Direction signing, she's way out of her comfort zone. Then, something happens that will change Ashleigh's life forever.. I can't write summaries but it's better than it sounds!
1. Chapter 1- The Beginnings

"Ash! Ash! ASHLEEEEEIGHHHHHHHHH!"  
I awoke to see my little sister at the foot of my bed.  
"What?" I said, still tired.  
"We're gonna be lateeeee!" she replied, impatiently.  
"For god's sake Ally, I'll get you to your stupid signing! Why did I agree to taking you?" I said, trying to push her out of my room.  
"You didn't. Mum and dad made you, remember?"  
"NO. Now GET OUT."  
Truth be told, I did remember. Ally came running in a few days before, screeching about a signing that's happening in town, and all her little friends are going to be there, and it will ruin her 'reputation' if she doesn't get there. My first reaction was "There's no way in hell i'm driving you there."  
Ally went running off into the kitchen, where I knew my parents were. Ten minutes later, the three of them came in and started saying stuff. I was unresponsive, until dad came and took my earphones out of my ears. "Hey!" I shouted, but he was in full dad mode. "I was just going to brief you about tomorrow, how me and your mother wont be in all day, because we're taking your sister to her signing.  
But because you're so disrespectful to us, you can take her." A smile creeped onto Ally's face. "But.." I started to say. "No but's. You're taking her. Its only to her friend Chloe's house, then Chloe's mum will drive them into town." After a long sigh, and my mum's worst stern look, I said  
"Fine. But one question, isn't Chloe a year older than you, like my age?". Ally gave me the dead eye and said "Shut up, Ashleigh. And stop calling me your 'little sister'. I'm only a year younger than you." Then she stormed off. "See you later little sis!" I said. Anyway, the day had arrived to take Ally. I pulled on the first clothes I found, a long t-shirt and leggings, put on a little makeup and put my hair into a messy bun. When I opened the door, Ally was stood there, tapping her watch. I pushed past her, went downstairs, and headed for the front door. I heard Ally come down a few seconds later and heard mum  
saying her 'goodbyes'. I sighed and headed for the car. Just as I was getting in, I heard someone shout my name. "Ashleigh!" they said. I turned around and saw my neighbour Katy running towards me. "Hey, Katy!" I replied. Katy was always happy, no matter what. That was what I envied about her most. Oh, and her gorgeous hair. "What are you up to?" She said, happy as usual. "Just taking Ally  
somewhere, as always." Katy nodded, and said "Ah. Well, i'll catch up with you later!" then went back home. Which only left Ally to be took. "ALLY!" I shouted, and instantly, Ally came out with her backpack on. "A backpack? seriously?" I asked. "Yes. It's all full of stuff I want to be signed!" It was the bulkiest backpack I had ever seen in my life. "Whatever, just get in" I said. As we were travelling to Chloe's house, I said "So who's this band you're going to see?" She looked disgusted, and said "Yeah, like you don't know!" I laughed, but seriously didn't know. Soon enough, we arrived at Chloe's house, and Ally went running in. Five seconds later, as I was about to drive off, a woman came running towards the car. She tapped on the window and signalled for me to put it down. I was hesitant, but realised  
she was Chloe's mother. I rolled down the window and she began to ask something. "Ashleigh, can I ask you the biggest favour?" I should have saw it coming, but didn't. "Sure!" I replied. "Can you take the girls to their signing? It's just I have some urgent errands to run." Chloe's mother  
was a lovely woman, and I didn't have the heart to disappoint her. "Of course, let them know" I said. Chloe's mother went back inside, and a minute later, Ally and Chloe got in the car. "Let's just get through this, okay?" I said. They nodded. A half hour later, we arrived. I said "go on then, go enjoy."  
but they didn't move, at all. Then there was the awkward silence. Chloe broke it, however, by saying "Um, Ashleigh? We need you to come". "What, why?" I replied, the smile fading from my face. "They wont let us in with only two people. You only have to stand with us, though, nothing  
else." Somehow they got me to go. I glanced up at the huge banner draping over the door. 'One Direction signing here today. No less than 3 people allowed in one group!'. Chloe and Ally both screamed as they entered. I said "For Pete's sake, you're both mature, sophisticated girls, so why do you have to embarrass yourse- Whoa."

They're in the next chapter, I promise you!


	2. Chapter 2- The Revelations

As the three of us made our way to the queue (only just inside!) a million thoughts rushed through my head- Why the hell am I helping Ally, I could've lied. Why the hell do they like this band. Why is this my life now, waiting around? All of a sudden, the line started to move. We shuffled forward, and crashed into the person in front. "Oh my god, sorry!" Chloe said instinctively, she always had the politeness of the three of us. "It's fine, so how long have you been waiting?" The girl said. "Long enough." I mumbled, and Ally elbowed me in the stomach. "About half an hour, you?" Ally said, and the girl replied "About forty minutes, but it'll all be worth it! I'm Emily by the way." Chloe replied immediately. "Hey Emily, I'm Chloe, this is my best friend Ally and her sister Ashleigh." Emily smiled and  
opened her mouth. Before any words could come out, someone grabbed my arm. "Hey what are you doing here? You need to be backstage! They're waiting!" A voice from behind me said. I was then yanked away from Ally, Chloe and Emily and was pulled towards the front of the room. I got a few weird looks, before I was pushed into a secluded room I didn't even know was there. Standing there were 5 boys and 3 girls. "Umm, hi" I decided to say, because the silence was killing me. "Where the hell have you BEEN?" Two of the boys said in unison. One of the girls came rushing to my side, and said "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down guys. Give Tara a chance to explain herself." I was stuck to that spot by a unknown force. "I-I'm not.." I began to say, before I was cut off by one of the boys. "You KNOW  
we can't start the signing without you! Photos and stuff!" I hoped my confused look didn't shine through. 'Okay, Ashleigh, stay cool. You can get through this. Just explain that you're not this Tara girl, whoever she is.' I thought to myself. Before a word could get said, one of the boys came and grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the corner. "Tara, where the hell have you been? Liam's had a search party out, Zayn's been checking all over the internet for a hint of where you are, Louis' been pacing around like a mad man, and Niall... Well he's been eating, I assume to mask his pain." Because there was nothing better come into my mind, I said "And you?" The boy said "Me? You know your BROTHER? I've been OUT OF MY MIND. You could have texted or something!" No words came into my mind, so I stayed silent, staring. "Harry!" One of the girls shouted over to the boy stood opposite me, and he replied "Coming Alyssa!" and ran off over to her, but not before saying "This is NOT over Tara. Not by a long way." I walked behind him, and noticed all the boys had badges on. At  
least I could differentiate them now. If only I'd listened to Ally all the times she's tried to tell me the differences between them. Wait what am I saying?Little did I know this day was only going to get worse as I was dragged back in front of the crowd.


	3. Chapter 3- Confusion

As I arrived in front of the crowd once again, I saw around 1000 pairs of eyes settle their gaze on me. I then sensed everyone else coming on stage next to me. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, and casually bought it out. A new text message. From Ally. 'Ashleigh! Where are you? We're getting worried!' it read. It was sent 10 minutes ago. I searched for Ally, Chloe and Emily, but they were so far back. My fault, I guess. The boys all sat down in a row in front of the long table, and the two girls stood behind two of them, I assumed their boyfriends, but I didn't know.

One of the girls, Alyssa, shouted "Tara! Get over here!" I walked over to where she was and stood there like the out of place idiot I was. "Go stand behind Niall!" she said, and pointed. I walked to where she pointed, and stood there awkwardly. How could I still be going along with this? Soon enough, this Tara girl will be back and I'll be the worst person in the history of the world.

All of a sudden, a voice bellowed "Let the signing begin!". Every person in the crowd began pushing and shoving. I looked at all the boys, and they were unbelievably calm. I was scared, because it looked like any minute we were going to get trampled on. But, after around 20 girls had came and got things autographed, the crowd got into 5 straight lines. It was so, so weird. I heard a girl say "Alyssa, you and Harry are literally the cutest thing ever. I understand why you never get any hate!" Alyssa smiled, went around the table, came up to the girl and hugged her. "Thankyou, so much!" Then, Harry leaned over to the girl, and kissed her hand. "Thankyou, love. I'm the luckiest guy ever" he said. I couldn't help but laugh, as I hated the whole practised speech. Consequently, the laugh earned me weird looks from everyone around me. One of the boys, Liam, said "Tara? You okay?" automatically I said "yeah, thankyou". He nodded and went back to the photograph he was signing. 'I feel so, so sorry for you Tara. Having a brother like that.' I thought to myself.

After around 200 more people came and went, I said to everyone "I just need to get some air, I'll be back soon." They all nodded, and I went out the fire exit door. As soon as I got out, tears started falling. This isn't me, I thought to myself. 'Ashleigh, you do not cry. Ally cries, not you. You're the strong one in our family.' the thoughts continued. I heard someone coming, so I quickly stopped crying (surprisingly) fixed my makeup and headed back inside. Not before I was stopped by Alyssa though. "Tara? Something's not right with you lately." This was only the second time I'd been questioned. It's not like I'd done anything wrong. "It's all just a big misunderstanding!" I said. "What do you mean it's a misunderst-" Alyssa was cut off by a huge security guard. "Alyssa, Tara, people are getting worried. We've got to get you back out there." Alyssa looked at me, then said "yeah, okay. Let's go." Then we walked back to everyone else in silence. I survived through the rest of the signing with a fake smile plastered on my face. 3 hours later, after it had finished, and all that remained was the tattered banners, name badges scattered around everywhere, and millions of pens and markers that covered the floor. But the front door slammed open, and a girl flounced in. The huge security guard who bought me and Alyssa back sprung into action. "I'm sorry miss, but this signing has closed." She said "But I'm meant to be here!". The security guard laughed and said "Sure, and why's that?". The girl replied "Because I'm Tara!"  
7 pairs of eyes turned around and settled on me once again.

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_**I promise it gets better from here onwards, please keep reading! **_

_Be my first reviewer, let me know how I can improve my writing!_


	4. Chapter 4- The Mystery

"T-Tara?" Alyssa said in shock. "Yes, I'm here." Tara said, focusing her sight on me. "And who's this?" She said, and aimed an accusatory glance towards me, then each of the boys in turn. "Funny, I was just about to ask that myself." Harry said, and looked deep in my eyes. "I-I" I began to say, before I was interrupted by everyone talking at the same time, none of them speaking pleasantly. All that is, except Niall, who kept looking forward, his back towards me. "Wait!" he said, hushing everybody suddenly. "Give her a chance to speak for herself." he said. The silence continued. For a very long time. "Well?" The other girl, stood behind Zayn, I think her name was Cass, said angrily. "Yeah, say something in your defence? You're looking at genuine fraud here!" Alyssa said, a hint of sadness in her tone. I couldn't think of anything. All words just left my mind. Instead of being sensible and doing the right thing, apologising, I ran.

I ran outside to the car park, and saw Ally and Chloe in their signed clothes, clutching autographed pictures. "Look, I know it's been a rough day, but-" I said. I got cut off mid sentence by Ally running and hugging me. Chloe offered a welcoming smile, and said "So Ash, where have you been?". Rather than explaining now, with the risk of the boys, Alyssa, Cass and Tara coming to hear too, I said "In the car. I'll explain later!" They did, and I sped home. It was only when we got in the front door I realised I completely forgot about dropping Chloe at home, and Ally was going too. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. You can have the sleepover here." I said breathlessly, that ride had banned driving licence written all over it. "We can?" Ally questioned. "Erm, yeah. Mum and Dad are out tonight, remember?" I replied.

Before they had a chance to argue, I ran upstairs. I flopped on my bed and took out my phone. Surprisingly, it wasn't taken from me during the signing. I desparately texted, the fastest I ever had before. Within minutes, Katy arrived, red faced. "How can you have a red face? You only live next door?" I asked with a laugh. "Long story, I'm not going to tell it" She said, happily, as always."So why did you text me to come over?" She asked. I told her the whole story, she was the only person I could trust right now. After half an hour of explaining, she sat back against the wall and said "Oh god, Ash. You've really done it this time." Blinking back tears, I said "Yeah, I know." Katy came over to me and cuddled me, in an attempt to cheer me up and calm me down. It didn't work.

Fifteen minutes later, she hatched another idea. "I know! I'll check Facebook and Twitter, then you'll know you're overreacting! Hasn't Ally told you like thirty thousand times this fandom is understanding and friendly?" I nodded, but wasn't holding out much hope. Katy got up and walked over to my laptop, and began typing away. Ten minutes later, she rolled back on the chair and said "So? How about ice cream? My treat?". It was obviously Katy's idea of distracting. I decided to bite the bullet and have a look. Every single trend on twitter was about me. Including #hatethefaker and #Tarawelovetherealyou and #Niallerweloveyounomatterwhat. It wasn't good. Facebook was no better. The official page was slating me off, as were the fans. Great day for Ashleigh.

Katy slept over that night, for 'moral support'. I appreciated it. At eleven o'clock, she went home. As soon as I knew she was home, my phone buzzed, meaning a text. I assumed it was Katy, saying she'd forgot something, but I was wrong. An unknown number. I was scared to press 'open' but I did anyway, for some reason. I read it carefully, multiple times.

'I know what's happened. Meet me at the coffee shop at 1pm. You'll know me when you see me.'

Adrenaline was pumping through my body, so I went and got Katy, and explained to her on the way to the coffee shop. When we arrived, Katy had a genius moment, and got her brother to come and wait outside, just in case anything went wrong. I looked around, and there were plenty of people inside the coffee shop, and lots of shoppers rushing around outside. Having a coffee shop in the middle of a shopping centre suddenly didn't seem a stupid idea anymore. Me and Katy stepped inside, and we both starting turning our heads looking for whoever asked to meet me. I was praying it wasnt an insane fan who would go psycho on me the second she saw me. But no, Katy tapped me on the arm and nodded her head towards a table at the very back of the shop. On it sat a steaming hot cup of coffee, and in front of it sat Niall. After a deep breath, we headed towards him. He was looking towards the ground, his head down. His blonde hair shone, reflected by the lights. He was silent, as he was during the signing, up until that moment when he defended me. "Niall?" I said softly, he looked in a fragile state, for some reason. He stared at the ground for a couple of minutes, and I couldn't see his expression at all. He looked up, and staring right back at me, was a black eye, the biggest I'd ever seen.


	5. Chapter 5- Confessions

I was speechless, for the first time in about 2 years. A million questions were racing around in my head. Who did this to him? How did it happen? When did it happen? I only saw him yesterday...  
Niall picked up on my thoughts. "I know what you're thinking" he said. I just stared at him, trying not to let my thoughts become speech. "Believe me, I'm thinking something" I replied. "Look. Yesterday, after you, um, left, we had a huge discussion. And then-" He got cut off by Katy coming back, 2 coffees wobbling on her hands. I got up to help her, then whispered "Need to talk, now!". Without hesitation, Katy grabbed my arm and took me to the other side of the shop.

"Spill!" she said, still worryingly happily. I explained all what Niall said, and she sat down on a vacant chair and said "Wow." I nodded and took the seat across from her. "It's a bit cryptic though, isn't it?" she said. "What do you mean?" I questioned, knowing she was thinking. "Well he hasn't told you much, has he? And the things he has told you, they don't make much sense" she replied, staring into space. Without realising, I found myself walking back over to Niall, with Katy right behind me. "Ashleigh, be careful." She said quietly. I sat across from Niall again. Katy waved at someone else in the shop, and went over to them, I didnt know who it was, though.

We were back where we started, silence. "So, tell me exactly what happened" I said softly. I didn't know if it sounded demanding or not, sympathy wasn't exactly my strong point. "Well, all of us discovered you weren't coming back, and we weren't going to go after you. So we decided to go home for food. And to question Tara about where she'd been, because you know, she'd been gone for five hours before we saw you, and we assumed she had came back. Sorry about how harsh Harry was, too." I couldn't help a little smile creep on my face when I relived the memory.

"It's okay, carry on" I said, hoping my little laugh was covered by the fake cough. "Well, we all decided to stay over at Harry and Alyssa's house, they offered, and we were all really tired. Anyway, about two hours after we got there, we got some alcohol, to celebrate the end of the signing. We all got a bit, you know. Except Liam, obviously. After the alcohol was gone, we were all more tired than we thought. So, I think I just collapsed, but it's all a bit fuzzy, last night." He was looking at the ground again, and I realised he was deliberately not telling me the source of his black eye. "I'm sorry, but you haven't told me about, you know." I said. He looked up at me in confusion, and I pointed to my eye. "I did, I told you I collapsed. I must have fallen on something."

How he could blatantly lie like that baffled me. "Niall, seriously. Tell me how you got it." He sighed, and said "You know Ashleigh, you're smarter than I gave you credit for." What? "Thanks, that means so much coming from you" I muttered under my breath in a mocking tone. Up to yet, I still don't understand why Ally is so infatuated with this band. Niall isn't exactly giving them a glowing reputation in my eyes. Neither did Harry, based on his behaviour yesterday. "Wait how do you know my na- Never mind. Tell me what REALLY happened." I said. "Well, true story we did stop at Harry and Alyssa's house. Everyone was deciding where they would be sleeping, there were only 3 guest bedrooms. I offered to sleep downstairs, so Zayn and Cass took one, Liam and Danielle took another-" I cut him off. "Who's Danielle?" I asked, imagining Ally raging at me for not knowing the answer. "Liam's girlfriend." Niall replied quickly. "Why wasn't she at the signing?" I questioned. "She had stuff to do, I don't really know what." I nodded, signalling for him to continue with the story.

"Louis took the other one." I couldn't help a feeling of sadness wash over me, when I asked "He was alone?" Niall looked regretful, and nodded. "His girlfriend ended their relationship last week. He's kind of been a devastated mood ever since, nothing will get him over it." I nodded once again signalling the continuation of the story. "Which left me and Tara downstairs alone." I had to say "This story doesn't lead to anything cringeworthy does it?" he actually laughed, the first time I'd ever heard him laugh, and said "No, Ashleigh. Don't worry." "You may continue then." I said, sounding more posh than intended. "After the others had all gone to bed, we stayed up chatting until around 3am, then things took a turn for the worse.

I found out she'd been out the previous night partying. Not the innocent kind with friends, though. She'd cheated on me that night, too. That effectively lead to the biggest argument we'd ever had. She accused me of things I had never done, some I would never even think of doing. She had no defence. She knew that, and resorted to threats. We must have been pretty loud, because Harry and Liam came down. They asked what was going on, and Tara turned on the charm. She made it sound like I was the bad guy, and resulted in Harry kicking me out. So, I wandered around the streets last night. I couldn't even go home, Tara had the keys. I eventually found a hotel, and that gave me somewhere. For a while, anyway. I left around 9am, and wondered what to do. I remembered my friend lives nearby, so, in a last ditch attempt, I explained everything. He seemed to believe me, but word had got around. By word, I mean Tara's fake version of events. My friend's brother came, and kicked me out. My friend argued, but his brother was stronger and had more authority. So once again, I was all alone. By this time, the news was all over the story, I bet one of the boys had gone to the press. I passed a group of thugs on the street, and then, this happened." He pointed to his black, puffed up and swollen eye.

"Oh my god. Niall, I am so, so sorry." I said, letting all my defences down. "And that was only about two hours ago." he said, a tear falling down his cheek. I found one falling down my cheek too. "So you've just been roaming around on your own ever since?" I said. "Yeah, pretty much" he replied. "But don't you have like security to keep you safe? You and the rest of the boys?" I said, growing more concerned for him with every sentence, which was insane. "I did, before word got around. Now I think I'm out of the band." My mouth fell open in shock. "Surely they cant make you leave with no warning?". "They can. If it's a majority vote. I think Liam and Louis might have tried to stop it, but it's never enough. But maybe I'm not out, maybe I'm just anticipating the worst." I got myself together and replied "But don't you have millions and millions of fans that fight for you?" He smiled. "Yeah, they're the best. But it's not enough. If Tara has told her lies like she has to everyone else, they will think it was a mutual breakup and I'm on holiday or something." I looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"That's why there's no fangirls here then?" He laughed and said "Yep, that's why". I said "You need to go and talk to the boys, put your mind at rest. They've had time to cool off, and they seem like nice lads, they'll understand. Just tell them everything you've told me." He took a deep breath and got up. "You know what? I will. I'll go right now." He started to leave. "Wait!" I said. He came and sat back down. "I still have a few questions!" He smiled and said "Go". "Right, first of all, how do you know my name, second- how did you get my mobile number, finally- how the hell did I get mistaken for Tara in the first place?" He stretched out his arms, took a breath and said "How do I know your name? You think I didn't see your bracelet with the charm that says 'Ashleigh' on it?" I looked down at my wrist, and there was the bracelet Katy had bought me for my birthday last year. "The other boys didn't" I said in my defence. "They're not as observant as me" he replied with a wink. "How did I get your number? I do my research." I looked at him. "Research? Really? That's a bit creepy isn't it?" He thought about it, and said "Yeah, I suppose it does. Actually, while you were gone outside, your sister and her friends got to the front of the queue. When I asked them if they wanted anything else, your sister gave me a folded piece of paper and said 'I think you and her would get on amazingly'. That piece of paper had a mobile number on it. Then, it was pure luck that it was yours." I rolled my eyes. "Yeah that sounds like Ally" I said with a laugh. "And how did you get mistaken for Tara? I don't know really, I think Zayn sent out security out looking for Tara. And truth be told Ashleigh, you could be twins." I put my head in my hands and said "Don't say that."

Niall got his phone out and showed me a picture. It was of a girl, smiling sweetly. "How did you get a picture of me, Niall?" I questioned. "It's not you. It's Tara." I obviously couldn't remember Tara too well, because she was literally my spitting image. I didn't really look at her though, to be fair. Right down to the sparkling brown eyes and glossy hair, she looked scarily like me. "Fine, one point to you." I said. "Is that all?" He said happily. I nodded, and he once again got up to leave. As he was about to go out the door, I caught up with him. "One more little question." He laughed again, and said "Last one then Ashleigh." I laughed too, and said "Promise. So yesterday when I got home and everyone hated me, and still probably does, I saw a trend on twitter." He looked at me, confused, and said "Yeah, so? There's trends all the time?" I replied "No, no, I don't mean that. You said all the fans wont be supporting you right now. How come '#Niallerweloveyounomatterwhat' was trending?"

He stared right into my eyes, and let a dazzling smile take over his face. "Hey, I didn't say they all weren't supporting me" he said, then left. Just like that. I turned around to try and find Katy. The coffee shop had got noticeably more busy since we entered. I didn't notice, though. Our table had been taken already. We'd only left it a minute ago. I found Katy eventually. She was sat across from a girl we know from college, Evie. "Hey Katy! Hey, Evie!" I said, with new found optimism. "Someone's happy about something!" Katy said, in an equally happy tone. "Hey" Evie said, in a normal tone, like I normally speak in. We chatted for an hour, then me and Katy headed to my house. Katy was stopping over again, as was Chloe. The next morning, I awoke to another text message. Yet another unknown number. I knew it wasn't Niall's though, I had saved that as a contact. This message wanted me to go somewhere, too. Good thing it was a local place, because I really couldn't be bothered to drive today. I waited for Katy to wake up, and when we'd had breakfast, I said "So, ready for another adventure?"

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Sorry for the really long chapter, I just kept thinking of things to write c:


	6. Chapter 6- Meetups and Messups

Katy and I arrived at the park half an hour before the text said to be there. Ally and Chloe insisted on coming too, so I told them to meet back at home. I sat in the shadow of the biggest tree, and anticipated what the day could bring. Ten minutes after we arrived at the park, Katy had to go somewhere, which left me alone. The next twenty minutes were spent relaxing, or relaxing as much as I could. Yesterday's events were still racing through my mind, which didn't help my concentration at all.

All of a sudden, I saw a shadow coming towards me. I grasped at the air, trying to grab the mirror blocking my view. There wasn't one. Tara was standing in front of me, looking down at me. After a lot of intimidating stares (from both of us), Tara sat down across from me. I didn't let down my stare. "You don't like me, and I don't like you" she said. "You don't say" I muttered in reply. "I know what you're doing. Trying to steal everything I have, I know what your game is, Ashleigh." Confusion swept over me, followed by a wave of realization. "Ohhh, you mean because everyone knows you're a user? Using everyone to make a name for yourself? If you know my game, you'll understand that I know everything you're up to". Anger was building up in Tara's eyes with every word either of us said. "That's it. Every little thing I can do to make your life a living hell, I'm going to do it. See you later, Ashleigh." Then, Tara got up and left.

After ten minutes of waiting, to make sure there was no risk of a surprise attack, I got up and began to head home. "Wait, Ashleigh!" a voice called from the distance. I turned around, trying to find the person. "Where are you going? Sorry I'm late, I got held up at home" Louis said, then ran to catch up with me. "Didn't you wait under the tree?" he said with a laugh. That meant Tara wasn't the one who sent me that text. But, how did she know where I was?. Anyway, Louis and I sat under the tree and had a long talk. Not about anything in particular, until he said "So, ever since you came to the signing, the boys and I kind of count you as a friend". I replied "But, that's the worse way to meet someone isn't it? Being mistaken for someone you're not?". "I suppose so, but we all talked it over and decided it wasn't your fault, you just got caught up in it all purely by mistake. But you two could be twins". Here we go again, another reference to Tara.

"Yeah, so I've been told" I replied. Louis laughed, and said "So, the reason I asked to meet you was because I wanted to thank you in person." I was desparately trying to think of what I'd done that was worth being thanked for. "Thank me? What for?" I asked, with more confusion than intended. "Niall came to talk to us all last night. He explained everything, and he said it was all down to you, Ashleigh. He said you talked everything over with him and convinced him to come and talk to us, and you have no idea how thankful we all are for that" he said, his classic smile taking over his face. "So, we're having a party tonight, to celebrate the reunion of the band and everything, and I just wanted to invite you" he said, pushing a piece of paper into my hand. It was delicate, and had the unmistakable handwriting of Liam, and all the boys had signed it at the bottom. An invite to a reunion party. "I'd love to come!" I said cheerfully. "Oh, but I promised my best friend we'd go out for dinner tonight" I said suddenly remembering the plans Katy and I had made before she left. "Bring her too!" Louis said immediately. "Really? Because she'd love it so much!" I replied, getting my phone out ready to text. "Yeah! We'd all love to meet her! And you need to come, whatever happens. It would make us all really happy, especially Niall. You're the whole reason this band is still going strong!" I felt myself blushing, which was weird.

"Okay then, I'll see you tonight!" I said. Then, we both left. As I was making my way home, my phone rang. No-one calls me unless it's really important. Without looking, I answered it immediately. It was Niall. He just called for a chat. After half an hour, he finally got on to the topic of the party. I was invited again. He said he would look out for me, and that he had something really important to tell me. This just made me more and more excited. As I was nearly home, my phone buzzed. It was Katy, being excited, more so than usual, about the party. We scheduled to meet at my house so we could drive to the shopping centre for a outfit. I could suddenly be bothered to drive again.

When we arrived, we immediately started scanning the shops. Three hours later, we had both found perfect outfits. Katy had chosen a silver, flowing dress with matching accessories and shoes, and had decided her hair was going to be in a perfect bun. I had chosen a purple flowing dress, but with multicoloured jewellery. I was never one to be completely matching. I decided my hair was going to be curled. I had chosen a bracelet that had different coloured beads, which actually matched the dress. There were only two left. Whilst we went shopping for anything else we might need, Katy said "Ash, I seriously love that bracelet you've got. Do you mind going back, so I can get the other one?". "Of course not, let's go!" I replied, and we ran back. But the bracelet was gone. I went up to the counter, and said "Excuse me, but you know the other bracelet identical to this one-" I lifted up my wrist to show the bracelet. "Where did it go?" I asked politely. "Well, it's gone." The cashier replied. "Gone? Who bought it?" I asked, not as politely. "You did" the cashier said, losing patience. "No, I only bought one, this one." I said, also losing patience. "Then someone who looks identical to you bought it then" the cashier said. "But who do you mean-" Realization hit me. "Never mind. Thankyou." I said. I grabbed Katy's arm and we drove back to my house.

We decided to get ready at Katy's house, because it was quieter, and there was no chance of sisters barging in when they're not wanted. By the time we had got ready, it was 7pm, and the party started at 8pm. So, we got in the car and I drove to the party venue as quick as I could. We arrived with fifteen minutes to spare, so we had time to get a table. But, the next ten minutes were spent telling the security outside we were actually invited, and we should be allowed in. The security didn't believe us. Suddenly, Louis appeared, and said "Don't worry, they're with me." The security guard nodded, and we were finally granted access. When we walked in, the place was packed. Every inch of the room was filled with people. "Whoa." I said. "I know, it's like- actually, I don't know. I've never seen this many people at a party before." Katy said at the side of me. "Yeah, we made the mistake of letting Harry mail the invites. He's a popular guy" Louis said with a sigh. "I can see" I said. The DJ said something that Katy and I couldn't hear, but Louis did. "Look guys, I've gotta go, but trust me, I'll see you later!" he said, than ran off. I noticed the people in the middle of the room started to filter to the left and right, leaving a pathway from the doorway to the stage. Katy and I were stood at the end of the pathway. We quickly jumped to the side, thinking it was the right thing to do. It seemed like it was, as a security guard came running in, panting. "Boys, we need your help, it's chaos out there. So many people saying they're meant to be here, we can't hold them all" As soon as he finished his sentence, Louis, Harry and Zayn came running to the doorway, each greeting me on their way past.

Twenty minutes of pure silence passed before they came back inside. They ran back to the stage, and suddenly Niall and Liam joined them. Then, Zayn said "Welcome everyone! We're going to treat you all to a mini concert" Besides, you guys are the reason we're doing what we love!". I turned to Katy and she was staring at the stage, watching intently. I was tempted to call Ally, but she would be turned away at the door, and I couldn't face being responsible for that. Getting her hopes up.

Thirteen songs later, the boys came off the stage, greeted by all the guests, giving praise. Katy and I included. But the packed party had it's effect on us, and we needed to go outside to get some fresh air. We stayed outside for ten minutes, and decided to brave the crowds again. But it was a completely different atmosphere. A slow, romantic song was playing from the speakers, and couples dominated the dancefloor. We thought this was the perfect time to get something to drink. As we passed the dancefloor, and our sight was magnified compared to what we saw at the doorway, we saw the infatuated looks on everyone's faces. The couples were swaying to the music, looking into each other's eyes. As we were in the queue for a drink, right next to the dancefloor, Katy nudged me in the arm. "Hey, Ash, that girl has the exact same dress as you." I looked where Katy was looking, and the girl was wearing the same dress as me. "Oh god, a little embarrassing, but I can live with it, it's pretty dark in here." I said. "Wait, she has the same shoes and bag as you too" Katy said. I nodded, not really understanding, I was too focussed. "Wait here. I need to investigate" I said, leaving Katy to get the drinks. "Detective Ashleigh... It has a cool sound to it" she said from behind me. I didn't hear her, though, because I was studying the girl's outfit. She had the same dress, the same shoes, the same accessories, the same hair, the same makeup, the same multicoloured bracelet...

Tara. She had copied me down to the last detail. But why? Suddenly, a familiar voice rang through my ears. "Ashleigh, I have to tell you something, ever since we met at the coffee shop, I kind of can't get you off my mind." Wait. That was Niall's voice. But he wasn't speaking to me. He was speaking to...  
I moved to a different spot, and saw Tara and Niall dancing close, and saw them leaning closer, closer, and then they kissed. It felt like a dagger had been stabbed in my chest.

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Ooooh suspenseful right? I actually love writing this fanfic, I hope you enjoy reading it!


	7. Chapter 7- Relationships

I was paralysed. Couldn't move a single part of my body. A couple of minutes later, Katy arrived at my side, with the drinks. She was bobbing around in front of me trying to get me to snap out of the paralysis. It didn't work. She eventually retired to my side again and followed my gaze. " .God." she exclaimed, dropping the drinks. They hit the ground with an ear-battering smash. Every head in the room turned to face us. Including Niall and Tara. Surely he could figure it out?  
He looked from Tara to me, and back again. Eventually, he stuttered "Ashleigh. I am so, so, sorry".

Even through the paralysis, I managed to reply "One chance to explain. Go." I realised it sounded harsh the second it left my lips, but the increasing anger inside me had to be let out somehow.  
"Okay, you know when I-" Niall began to say, before he was cut off by Tara. "Truth is, we're back together. He was pretending when he said he couldn't stop thinking about you. Why would you of all people be on someone's mind constantly?" then she kissed Niall passionately.

He didnt seem to pull away right away. Before they finished, I took off the bracelet and threw it towards them on the dancefloor, and ran outside before anyone could react. I'd been running alot recently, with the signing and everything, I had really built up my speed. I ran to the park a block away from the club, and sat on the swings. When I was little, they bought me so much joy, and I was hoping some of that joy could still be produced by the swings. I started swinging backwards and forwards slowly, hoping every swing deleted a minute of this disastrous night. After fifteen minutes of  
lone swinging, I found myself going faster, and higher up. I jumped off the swing at the first opportunity, and turned around immediately.

Stood there was Harry. "I know i'm banned from your stupid party. Just let me get through this on my own." A little smirk worked it's way onto his lips. "That's not why i'm here. I need to show you something." I shrugged, waiting for whatever he wanted to show. He got out his phone, and flicked to his videos. "I kind of filmed when Niall came to talk to us, I don't really know why. But you need to see this, to know what he's feeling right now." I shrugged again. The last thing I needed right now was to be reminded of the times when he actually respected me.

Twenty minutes later, after the video had finished, I felt tears welling up again. But no matter how much he explained, nothing could get the image of him not pulling away from his controlling, manipulative ex-girlfriend's (or girlfriend, I suppose) kiss just around an hour ago, out of my mind. "Thankyou for trying, Harry. I really do appreciate it, but nothing's helping right now" I said, my fake smile trembling at the edges, due to the increasing amount of tears behind my eyelids. He did the most surprising thing, hugged me. A real bear hug, too.

"Come back when you're ready, okay?" he said. I nodded silently. I watched as he got in his car and drove away. I hope Alyssa didn't see that. I'm not exactly at the top of her friend list right now. I sat back down on the swing and began swinging again. That is, until I heard the scuffing of shoes on  
the astroturf next to me. Ready for any surprises, I turned my head. There was Katy, makeup and hair still perfect, if you didn't know better, you wouldn't know she'd just ran a whole block at breakneck speed. "How did you kno-" I said, before I was interrupted. "Ash, best friends since forever? Don't insult me, I know you too well!" Katy said, in a friendly yet serious tone. I smiled. "Want to talk about it?" she asked. I shook my head. "I just want to sway back and forth for a while" I replied in a childish voice.

Katy laughed and began swinging backwards and forwards. "I'm just going to go call mum and dad, let them know everything's okay" I said. "Even though it's not? I sure hope you're a good liar, Ash" Katy replied. "Katy, it hurts that you doubt me" I said. I ran behind the nearby tree, and dialled as quick as  
I could. "Sorry Katy, but I couldn't tell you the truth" I said to myself.  
"Hello?" the person on the other end of the phone answered.  
"Hey, it's me. Listen, I need you"  
"Of course! I've been waiting! Where?"  
"I'll text you the details"

A half hour later, Katy's phone buzzed. "Oh, the boys are wondering where we are, they're getting worried" she said whilst tapping her phone's keyboard in response. "You go, tell them we're fine. I'll be there in about an hour" I said. "An hour? Why? Is there something you're not telling me?" She  
asked. It was killing me to lie to her. "Let's see, makeup, hair, outfit fix, need I go on?" I said. "Nah, I know it takes you a while" Katy said. She then got off the swing, gave me a huge hug and ran off back into the night.

A hour later, I returned to the party. The doors swung open, hitting the wall. Every head in the room turned in unison. I mean EVERY head in the room. I spotted Katy with Louis, Zayn, Harry and Liam in the corner near the stage. "Who is THAT with Ashleigh?" a voice asked, I think it was Zayn's. "Oh no. Oh god no." Katy said softly, just enough so the boys could hear whilst a tear was trickling down her cheek. "What? Who is he?" Louis asked. "That... is Logan." Katy replied shakily. "And who's Logan?" Harry said straight after. "Ashleigh's ex boyfriend." Katy replied, floods of tears streaming down her cheeks. "So she's bought her ex boyfriend to a party?  
What's the big deal? Maybe they're friends now" Liam said, trying to reassure Katy. "No guys, you REALLY don't understand." Katy whispered.

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Yeah sorry about the long time, it seems ages since I updated this! I hope I didn't dissapoint 3


	8. Chapter 8- Reconciliations

Tears were flooding thick and fast down Katy's cheeks. She couldn't contain the pure horror inside she felt, and the sadness and disappointment she felt for her best friend right now. The boys were all talking at once in her ear, asking a thousand questions. She couldn't hear any of it, none at all. All she could focus on was the mixture of hurt, fear, sadness and anger swirled in her best friend's eyes. The boys picked up on Katy's silence, and stopped speaking, and just stared. But she heard footsteps approaching her, and then the boys went away, all of a sudden.

Logan was the hit of the party. All of the girls were staring, wishing they were here with him, and the guys at the party were jealous of his natural charisma and charm. I was still very, very hurt, but I was here with Logan, and the past deserves to be overlooked, no matter how bad it may have been, right?  
Katy decided she needed a drink, before she did something she'd regret in the VERY near future. She walked over to a vacant table with a new, fresh drink, and watched me and Logan intensely. She was distracted, however, by the boys coming onstage in matching black and white suits. They stood in a line, and Harry spoke first. "The suits were my idea, well my second idea. None of the others would go with the first option." the other boys looked a little shy. Then, Liam began to speak. "Okay, it makes perfect sense that we perform at our own party, doesn't it?" that was met with a wave of applause and cheers. "haha! Thanks guys! So we're gonna start with a song one of us decided to dedicate to someone out there!" Louis said with a smile. The guests all made a chorus of 'wooooooo's. I guess he must have looked at one of the others, I was facing the other way and didn't see. The music started, and the couples began to slow dance. As Logan and I swayed around the dancefloor, I began to listen to some of the lyrics that were being sung.

'He takes your hand, I die a little'  
'why can't you look at me like that?'  
'When you walk by, I try to say it, but then I freeze, and never do it. My tongue gets tied, the words get trapped.'

It hit me with a wave of horror. Oh god, no. That can't be for me, surely. Logan spun me around, so I was facing the stage. The boys were all looking into the crowd and focussing on no-one in particular. All that is, except Niall. He was looking straight into my eyes. Then, it sank in. He was dedicating it to me.  
The song continued.

'But I see you with him, slow dancing, tearing me apart 'cause you don't see.'  
'Oh how I wish that was me.'

I looked up at Logan, his chocolate brown eyes stared right back down at me. We continued dancing, and I felt at ease. But, something was definitely wrong. Tara. I hadn't seen her for a while. But, sure enough, she was never too far away. She was stood at the very back of the stage, with her arms in the air, cheering Niall's name. I didn't care.

'I've got three little words I've always been dying to tell you'  
'Whenever you kiss him, I'm breaking'  
'Oh how I wish that was me.'

I snuggled into Logan's arms, as we danced. It was like all my worry was slipping away. Except the one thing screaming at the back of my mind, telling me to get out now. Not to go through it again.

'He looks at you, the way that I would. Does all the things I know that I could.'  
'If only time could just turn back.'

The lyrics were getting intense, and I understood everything the song was saying. But, no. Im not being that stupid again.

'I wish it was me that you'll call later on 'cause you wanna say goodnight'

That lyric hit me hard. I always used to call Niall at night, and we had long, meaningless chats. But it always, always ended with the word goodnight. But it felt really special to me. As soon as the lyric had finished, I moved away from Logan and moved my gaze up to the stage. Niall was still staring back at me, but his crystal blue eyes were sparkling, as if concealing tears. He knew those little things about me, the things Logan didn't.  
"Ashleigh? You okay babe?" Logan asked.  
"Erm, yeah." I replied.  
We began to dance again, but there was a part of me that wanted to run. Run so, so far away.

The boys sang a medley of songs then, and as soon as the third one finished, I couldn't take it any more. I ran out of the building, not really heading anywhere. I found myself at a local park, one neither I or anyone I know goes to. I sat on the edge of the fountain, and let my emotions get the best of me. I was sobbing into my hands, when, suddenly, all I could see was black.  
A sharp, boiling hot pain spread at the back of my head.

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Sorry about this rubbish chapter, it's the foundation for a plot twist!


	9. Chapter 9- Safety in Numbers

I couldn't really focus on anything, it was like I was drifting in and out of consciousness. But, admittedly, it wasn't very likely that me, straight talking Ashleigh, would be down this easily. The pain was really intense now. I could only be left alone with my thoughts, which was at this moment, as you would expect, a huge fun ordeal. Not.

Niall, Katy, Logan, the boys. I can't just leave them like this, with the way I left the party. The hurt in Katy's expression, just about killed me. She was always the happy, cheerful one, and to see it all dramatically change when I walked in with Logan...

I felt my weight shift, like I was being dragged somewhere. Just what I needed. It was dark out, I remembered, and no-one would see or suspect a thing, just shadows in the night. I couldn't help but recall on the events so far. It would have bought a tear to my eye, if I had control of my face or body. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, but I couldn't get to it, my arms were stiffly secured behind my back. Luckily, my attacker hadn't noticed the mobile, it was hidden quite well, in my bag. After another ten minutes of quality alone time with my thoughts, I felt myself thump to the floor. There was definitely something wrong, but I couldn't get my mind around exactly what, despite being helpless, obviously. As I was attempting to figure it all out, a hand came to my mouth, and liquid poured down my throat. My eyelids fluttered, my mouth outstretched in yawns, and I drifted into sleep.

Two hours later, I awoke, realising I had regained control of my body. My eyes came into focus, even with the dim lighting of the building I was in. I made out three figures, huddled in the corner of the room. One of them came away from the huddle, started coming towards me, and said "No, it's alright, I'll check on her". I began to shuffle backwards as the figure came closer. "it's alright, I won't hurt you." the figure said. It was a gentle, caring girl's voice, about my age, I would say. She knelt down in front of me and looked me in the eye. I got a good view of her features then. She had a familiar face, I had definitely seen her somewhere before. Definitely. It took me a few minutes, but I finally recognised her. "E-Emily?" I said shakily, not knowing if my speech was audible. "Yeah, it's me. Hey Ashleigh." I shook my head. "YOU did this to me? But you were so sweet at the signing!" she rapidly shook her head in denial. "No no no! They did!" she gestured to the other two figures who I still couldn't make out. "And they are?" I asked. "Jennifer and Jo." she said in a quick reply. "well, why did they do this to me?"  
"Tara made them."  
"Makes sense."  
"Suppose it does."  
"But why are you here?"  
"Tara thinks I'm on her side, like those two. But I came along to make sure you were safe. Im on your side in this. I've saw how Tara treats Niall behind closed doors."  
"Okay, eww."  
"Not like that"  
"Oh"

As Emily was about to reply, another figure appeared above me. I tried to find something which could help me differentiate between Jennifer and Jo, to know which one I would be speaking to. All I could find was a 'J' necklace around her neck. 'Unbelievable.' I said to myself. "Is she conscious?" Jennifer/Jo said to Emily. "Jen, we don't have to do this. I mean, she hasn't done anything!" Emily pleaded. Aha, it was Jennifer standing in front of me. After an exchange of looks, Jennifer shrugged, and went to open the door. "Thanks" Emily said, and shifted my weight on her shoulders, and helped me out of the door. When we were safely out of earshot, I said "I can walk Emily". She laughed, and said "No, you can't. Not yet. It was strong stuff Jo gave you." I sighed and carried on. We arrived back at the park after what seemed like forever, and Emily sat me down on the fountain. My blood was still spattered on the brickwork, and it made me shudder. "Jo doesn't say much, does she?" I said. "She's not the speaking type. You don't get on her wrong side, you'll live. She can't be reasoned with" Emily replied.  
"I actually thought you didn't like One Direction though, Ashleigh?"  
Crap. The inevitable question.

"Yeah, well, something changed"  
"What?"  
I sighed. "I'm not going into this"  
"So, let me get this straight. You, party girl, adrenaline seeking Ashleigh, have joined the generation of fangirls? A-mazing."  
I couldn't help but get a little angry. "People change"  
"I guess so"  
"I'm not a fangirl, by the way"  
"Oh, I saw. The way Niall dedicated I Wish to you? Yeah, you're more than a fangirl"  
I lifted my gaze from the ground to meet Emily's. "You saw that?"  
"Erm, yeah! Everyone at the party did!"  
"You were-"

Before I could finish my sentence, Katy and Logan, a wide distance apart from each other (understandably) came running up to us. Before I could understand what was happening, I was back at the party, backstage. It was just me, Emily, Katy and Logan. The boys were elsewhere, socialising, I assume. "Ash, are you okay?" Katy asked, getting upset. I nodded weakly, because everything, even nodding, hurt at the minute. "Ashleigh, babe, I'll never leave you again" Logan said from my other side. "Don't babe her." Katy said flatly. Logan rolled his was always going to be tension. Katy, unlike me, was NEVER going to forget what Logan had done in the past. I shouldn't really forget, but Niall had hurt me so bad that I was prepared to overlook anything. I don't care what happens now.

Suddenly, the boys came rushing to my side. "Is she alright?" Liam said in a concerned voice. Harry looked really upset too, surprisingly. Even Alyssa, at his side, looked a bit uneven and shaky. And I know she hates me. They all helped me up, and took me onstage. Zayn announced I was back, and there was sighs of relief throughout the audience. Now that surprised me. As I was scanning the audience, randomly, I saw Emily heading out the door. "Wait!" I shouted and began to run after her. I wasn't safe or steady on my feet, and it showed. But I was determined to thank her for everything. I reached the door, ran outside and scanned the surroundings for Emily. No sign of her. I eventually gave up and turned around to find Katy, Logan and the boys staring at me. Louis was holding Katy close, as she was sobbing hysterically. "Why did she run off like that?" Harry said. "I guess she thought she saw someone?" Alyssa replied. "But there's no-one here..." Liam added. "Oh god, it's happening again... Ash, please don't do this to us again" Katy sobbed, backing into Louis' chest.


	10. Chapter 10- The Aftermath

"What's going on?" Liam asked, growing concern in his voice. "She-she's done this before" Katy replied through sobs. Everyone was clearly confused. All that is, except Logan. He stood there, motionless. "Hey, aren't you going to do something?" Harry shouted at him. Still, Logan stood. I was still rapidly swinging my head from side to side, scanning the area for Emily. Nothing. She was gone.

I faced the facts and turned around, greeted by worried faces. "What?" I asked casually, desperately hoping the normal Ashleigh would shine through. Katy was still buried in Louis' chest, and everyone was huddling with someone else. The amount of things I could have, would have, normally said in that situation was insane, but now? Nothing. My mind was blank. So, I did what any relatively normal person would do. Ran past them all back into the building. The place was still partying, so I found a quiet place in the side room, in the shadows, and tried to recollect my thoughts. No such luck. Tara had found her way onto the stage and was announcing her and Niall's 'make up, not break up'. I took a deep breath and watched as they were greeted by thunderous applause.

Tara was loving it, Niall looked in pain. But I know that look. He was hiding something. I saw him scan the crowd, and found myself digging deeper into the plush chair I was on. Somehow I had to get out of here. I noticed a fire exit about 4 tables down, I ran for it, but got cornered. "Where do you think you're going?" I sighed. "Not now, Zayn. You know I have to get out of here!" He shook his head. "Nope. Not until-" He was taller than me, and noticing him stop mid sentence and stare dead ahead instinctively made me do the same.

I turned around, and then felt woozy again, but managed to stay upright. " .the mood." I said sternly. "Just-just give me a chance to explain this" he said. "It's pretty obvious. Using me when you actually did want her all along. I get it. Make the tough girl cry. Mission accomplished, alright?" I said, feeling tears well up in my eyes. "No it's not like that at all! You heard the things I said when I thought she was you! They were all true, I promise you Ashleigh! Just please, please listen to me" he said, desparation in his tone. "You just said it yourself Niall. They were true. They're not anymore" then I pushed past Zayn and found myself outside again, definitely alone. I managed to get home without being kidnapped again, and dived into bed, hoping this whole night would wash away after sleeping. At least, that's what I hoped.

I was awoken the next morning by excessive banging on the front door. Mum and dad had left me a note saying they had taken Ally out for the day, so I was home alone. I slumped downstairs, and, just as I suspected. There she was. "Katy, I'm so, so sorry!" she smiled her world famous smile. "It's fine, I would have done the same thing!" So we had a day just like we did before this whole mess up. It was so amazing to catch up with her, have makeovers, watch films and just relax. This was up until someone knocked on the door though, and it wasn't a visit we would forget...

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I'm sorry I haven't updated in ages! But I have my leaver's exams all through summer and I just haven't had time:( But i'll try and be more active now xo


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